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Are you looking to clear your home of clutter?

Over time, clutter can build up in our homes, leading to stress, frustration, and a feeling of being overwhelmed. Yet, with a strategic mindset and determination, reclaiming your space is possible, bringing back a sense of calm to your living environment. In this guide, we’ll outline the straightforward steps to effectively declutter your home. Worth its weight is here to help!

Prep and Plan: Stage 1

Before delving into decluttering, it’s crucial to dedicate some time to preparation and planning your approach. Here’s how:

Establish Clear Objectives: Identify which areas of your home require decluttering and set specific goals for each space. Whether it’s sorting out the kitchen, organizing your wardrobe, or clearing out the cupboards, having defined aims will help keep you focused and motivated.

Prepare Yourself: Make sure you have all the necessary supplies for decluttering, such as storage boxes, bin bags, labels, and cleaning materials. Having everything readily available will streamline the process and prevent unnecessary disruptions.

Schedule Decluttering Sessions: Allocate dedicated time slots in your calendar for decluttering sessions. Breaking down the task into manageable segments will make it easier to stay on course. For items you would like to earn some cash for, find out where your nearest Worth its Weight cabin is and plan a time to take your items.

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Get decluttering: Stage 2

With your plan in hand, it’s time to get down to business. Here’s how to approach the decluttering process effectively:

Sort and Categorise: Start by sorting through your unwanted items, such as clothing, and categorise them into groups like keep, donate, or sell. Be decisive in your choices and consider whether each item truly adds value to your life.

Room-by-Room Decluttering: To prevent feeling overwhelmed, tackle one room or area at a time. Begin with smaller spaces like drawers or cupboards before progressing to larger areas such as bedrooms, playrooms, or home offices.

Decluttering Techniques: Select a decluttering method that suits your preferences, whether it’s Marie Kondo’s “Spark Joy” approach, the three-box method of sorting items into keep, donate, or sell, or any other strategy. Experiment until you find the one that resonates best with you.

Sell, Donate and Bid Farewell: Stage 3

Sell: Transform your clutter into cash by selling unwanted items through Worth its Weight, where you can receive cash for your items based on their weight.

Alternatively, consider online marketplaces or pre-loved selling sites such as Vinted.

Donate: Give back to your community by donating gently used items to Anglo Doorstep Collections, local animal shelters, or charity drop-off points. Ensure that the items are clean and in good condition before donating.

Bid Farewell: After decluttering, parting with possessions can evoke emotions, particularly if they hold sentimental value. Take a moment to acknowledge the memories associated with these items before saying goodbye. Focus on the positive impact of decluttering and the creation of a more organised and serene home environment.

1. Fast Fashion Culture: The rise of fast fashion has led to an increase in the production of cheap clothing, often made from low-quality materials. Fast fashion encourages consumers to buy more clothes more frequently, leading to a cycle of rapid consumption and disposal.

Poor Quality: Many clothes produced today are made with cheap materials and construction, causing them to wear out quickly or lose their shape after a few washes. When garments become unwearable due to poor quality, they are often discarded rather than repaired or recycled.

Trends and Seasonality: Fashion trends change rapidly, often resulting in perfectly wearable clothing going out of style. Seasonal trends also contribute to the disposal of clothing as people feel the need to update their wardrobe with each new season.

Consumer Behaviour: Some consumers have a “throwaway” mentality when it comes to clothing, treating garments as disposable rather than valuable items to be cared for and maintained. Additionally, the convenience and affordability of purchasing new clothes have led to a culture of overconsumption and frequent disposal.

Recycling Infrastructure: Recycling textiles can be challenging due to the complexity of materials used in clothing production. Many municipalities lack the infrastructure to properly recycle textiles, making it easier for people to dispose of unwanted clothing in landfills rather than seeking out recycling options.

Lack of Awareness: Many people are unaware of the environmental impact of textile waste and the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling clothing. Without proper education and awareness, people may not consider alternative options to landfill disposal.

Worth Its Weight empowers customers to donate their unneeded clothes, shoes, and household items, preventing them from ending up in landfills. All donated items are redistributed to countries like Ukraine and regions in Africa. By participating, customers not only contribute to environmental sustainability and the circular economy but also have the opportunity to earn money in the process.

Take a look at your wardrobe right now. How many of those clothes have you not worn for a while? I am willing to wager that it is quite a few. You see; research suggests that around 30% of the clothes sitting in somebody’s home have not been worn for around a year. This is quite a startling figure, to be honest. In fact; the figure becomes even more startling when you add up the total value of all of the clothes sitting in wardrobes unused for a year.

In Canada alone, there is estimated to be $30 billion worth of clothing…unused. Most of this ends up being sent to landfills eventually. In fact; 1.14 million tons of clothing are sent to landfills every year. As you most likely know, this is causing huge environmental problems. Those words should be enough to convince you that you should be recycling used clothes. I do urge you to read on though. It will show you other ways in which the recycling of clothes can benefit the environment.

I do urge you to read on though. It will show you other ways in which the recycling of clothes can benefit the environment.

Clothes Recycling Reduces Impact On The Environment

Did you know that every ton of textiles that is tossed into a landfill increases carbon dioxide emissions by 3.6 tonnes? That is 3.6 tonnes worth of ozone layer-damaging gas being produced. In short; not recycling clothes damages the environment. It contributes to global warming. Sure; there are other things out there which contribute more to global warming than a lack of recycling clothes does. Every little helps though, right?

Reduces Landfills Required In Canada

Did you know that we are fast running out of landfill space in the United Kingdom? There are only a few places in the country where placing landfills is viable. When these spaces are filled up there is nowhere we can turn (at the moment at least). The lack of landfill space is likely to cause huge problems in the future with pollution.

A single piece of clothing takes hundreds of years to start breaking down. They are quite bulky too which means that the lack of recycling clothes is pushing landfills to the breaking point. Remember; when clothes start to break down they will begin to release chemicals and the like into the environment. This causes several problems and landfills have been known to contribute to the pollution of water and the death of animals. Again other things are contributing to the landfill problem in this country. You do however have to realize that even the smallest things such as clothes recycling can have a huge impact on the environment in the future. Remember; if just a fraction of people started to recycle their clothing we would be ensuring that the landfills can keep operating for as long as possible and that the environment suffers the least amount of damage.

There Are People Out There Who Need Clothing

Many people in developed nations take clothing for granted. I know that this is a little bit of a strange thing to say. However, you have to realize that there are people out there who can’t afford clothing. Wearing proper clothing may be a right for us, but there are people out there who are in genuine need of clothing and they are not able to get hold of it. Clothes recycling can save somebody’s life. If you throw that clothing away then there will be less clothing out there available to those who have a genuine need for it. Recycled clothing will not just be for those on the other side of the globe either. Recycled clothing is often used to ensure that the people who live on the streets are kept warm. There are some people out there who will hand off their clothing to local cash-for-clothes centres. This is fine. It is still going to be helping people. For example; if the unwanted items go to a clothes shop then this clothing will be sold at a reduced price to those who may not necessarily be able to afford ‘new’ clothing all of the time (remember, the clothing that you are recycling may be old to you but to somebody else it is new. It is a whole new outfit for them!) In short; clothes recycling should make you feel good knowing that you are making a difference in this world!

Why Recycle Used Clothes?

As I have demonstrated throughout this page; it is vital that you start thinking about recycling your used clothing. Why? Because if you do not recycle clothing then you are doing your part towards destroying the world that we live in. Sure; the world is not that badly damaged at the moment, but it is getting there. Clothes recycling may not seem like a big thing in your mind, but it is almost certainly going to have an impact on the lives of your descendants. Consider recycling clothing today and you will be doing your part towards making the world a far better place to live in.

Why not look into ways in which you can recycle your clothing today? I am sure that there are plenty of stores in your local area looking to take that clothing off your hands and pay you per kilogram and hopefully get it into the hands of those who can benefit from it. If you live in London and have any unwanted clothes in wearable condition then bring your items to our recycling centre and get paid!